The Sweetest Agony
by catcher in the light
Summary: FE Fates. Spoiler-free. Corrin and Leo struggle to keep up with each other, only to find their insecurities are the same in the end. F!Corrin x Leo.
**I love Corrin x Leo because I think they have an interesting dynamic, though I found it difficult to write. Regardless, I hope I wrote it well enough that you can enjoy it!**

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"You know what you look like?"

Corrin cast a suspicious glance over her shoulder at Leo, leaning back against the headboard with a lazy, indolent grin he did not often wear. His hair was a little tousled, too, which made him look so delightfully sweet she refused to tease him about it lest he fix it. This was how she liked him best: rumpled and loose and unburdened.

"What do I look like?"

Leo reached out to trace the curve of her ears up to the point. The light touch sent shivers down her spine. Would he say she looked like a goddess in the spring, a shy forest nymph? A lady demure, a maiden fair? Camilla never lacked in suitors, and Corrin sometimes eavesdropped on their confessions where they assailed her with florid poetry. Camilla rejected them with scorn, but Corrin was admittedly envious of her. Leo was not given to such romantic ideas and he apparently wasn't going to be anytime soon.

"A rabbit," he said. "Your ears are as big as a hare's. I bet you could even fly, if you tried hard enough."

Corrin slapped her hands over her ears. "They are not!"

"Are too. Ah, you're so upset your nose is twitching—just like a rabbit!"

She quickly covered her nose with her hand, realized it left an ear exposed, and gave up entirely; she pulled the blanket over her head to hide from his smirking face. She was stupid to hope for an affectionate word.

"Why don't you just go back to your room," she said, her voice muffled in the pillow.

"Eh?" For his part, Leo sounded genuinely surprised. "Are you angry?"

Corrin ignored him. He tugged at the blanket, but she tightened it around her. It was quiet for awhile. Whenever they argued as children, he had always been sullen and stubbornly silent until she found a way to appease him, even if he was at fault. This time, however, she was determined to wait it out. He swore he loved her so much that it was agonizing, yet it felt like she was the one always in agony, taken for granted and wanting more and more from him each day. How could she tell him that when he was so logical and collected? It would only make him look down on her.

The silence dragged on and just when she despaired they would never speak again, Leo unexpectedly said, "I'm sorry, I was only jesting. I hadn't meant to hurt your feelings or make fun of you, it's just—I was trying to—well—uh—"

Corrin reluctantly peeked over the blanket. His cheeks were pink and he was trying to maintain a aloof expression, but when he met her gaze, he colored even deeper.

"You were trying to…?" she prompted.

His face was an impressive tomato color as he said, "I was—I was—I was trying to tell you how _cute_ you were, okay?"

She blinked, and sat up. "Cute? You think I'm cute?"

"Of course I do," Leo said waspishly. "Rabbits are cute, right? They're soft, and sweet, like when they flop over or kick up their heels when they bounce around. Ugh, this is coming out all wrong."

"Then make it come out right," Corrin said. "This is the first time you're telling me all this. I thought maybe you didn't love me as much as I love you, because you're always so cool around me."

Leo laughed in disbelief. "Is that what you think? That I'm the cool one? That I don't think of you every moment of every day, wondering what you see in me and why you chose me over the others?"

"Why couldn't you tell me that?"

"Because I'm helplessly, hopelessly in love with you! You're so brave and strong that I must work all the harder not to show my weakness in front of you. I've got to be a man worthy of standing by your side. Don't you see you've always been the one who's held the leash?"

She was speechless. It had never occurred to her he felt the same; she just assumed what he showed her was the truth. How silly of her. She knew Leo was far more complicated and vulnerable than that, but she had let her own insecurity get the best of her.

"I'm sorry, too," Corrin said. "I don't want you to hide your weakness. If we keep holding back these things, we'll just hurt each other. So show me your weakness, show me all of it, and I'll show you mine!"

Leo considered her for a moment, seemingly disconcerted, and then smiled wryly. "You bested me again. You're so honest and open with your feelings, which is something I have always struggled with. But I'll try. So where should I start? Should I tell you your eyes are a sunset, your skin so soft it's like touching silk? Should I tell you how much I love laying my head on your hair when we sleep because it smells like home? Should I tell you how your smile makes my heart pound like a drum, how nothing warms me like your fingers in my hair? Should I—"

Corrin threw her arms around him and kissed him fiercely. He responded with arms around her waist, pulling her closer, clinging to her so tightly he squeezed the breath right out of her.

"I love you, too," she said. "Don't ever doubt how much I need you."

Leo pressed his lips to her shoulder. "Then don't ever doubt how much I love you. I will love you in every life, forever and always. So love me, too, okay?"

"Forever and always," she promised.

This time he was the one to kiss her, sweet and full of the tenderness she craved. His hands slid up to caress her ears once more, and he gazed at her with a half-smile. What romantic thing would he say next?

"I _still_ think you look like a rabbit," Leo said frankly.

She smacked him square in the face with a pillow.

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 **Thank you for taking the time to read this! Please consider leaving a review to let me know if you liked it :)**


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